During his life Lamar Hunt was a very wealthy man, a man with millions at his disposal. He was a man who known in many different ways; oilman, sports owner, gentleman, philanthropist, and entrepreneur to name a few. To give you another point of reference Lamar Hunt is the man who came up with the name Super Bowl for the championship game in the National Football League.

He was heavily involved in the sports world and in recent days after his death many people have taken a moment to remember him during certain award ceremonies. Last week during one such event Lee Corso an analyst for ESPN made this statement about Lamar Hunt whom he knew for forty years, “The true test of a human being’s character is how he treats people in his life that he doesn’t need. Lamar Hunt was a really good human being.”

Lamar Hunt had everything he needed and then some. If he needed something, anything and he did not like the way someone did it, he had the ability to pay someone else to do it. In realty there were very few people in his life that he needed. Lee Corso was paying Mr. Hunt a very high compliment with his statement.

We on the other hand are not like Mr. Hunt; we do not have an endless supply of money or help at our disposal. We unlike Mr. Hunt need many people. That being said there are still people we come across who we do not need, I wonder if we would pass the test of true character on this subject.

The young clerk at the store, we really don’t need that person. Do we greet them with a smile or do we treat them as a necessary nuisance? What about that person on the other end of the phone line at work from a foreign country. They are doing there job, we really don’t have to have them, how do we treat them? What about the child under your feet at church, you don’t need them, they might even be sitting in your pew for goodness sake, how do they feel when they are around us?

As I have thought of this quote I have come to the conclusion that we treat people at home as though we don’t need them far too often. Familiarity leads us to take people for granted and our words and actions do not always tell the other person you are appreciated or even loved.

Let’s keep the ball rolling and ask ourselves the question that when people are around us do they feel as though they are important? No matter our position in the family, church, club or job are people made to feel as equals in God’s sight or are we busy propping ourselves up at others expense? Are people glad they came in contact with us?

In reality though we are not rich there are many people who we come across each day of our lives if even for a short period of time that we really do not need. Our attitude toward these people tells a great deal about us and when they know we believe in God it tells them a lot about our God.

The difference between a rich life and a poor one is not in how much money you have but in how you treat others.

Exercise: Pay close attention to all the people you come across this week and ask yourself, “is this the way I would want to be treated” “better yet ask yourself this question, is this how Jesus would treat them?” It could very well reveal your true character.

Scripture: Luke 6:31, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, help our inside to be right with you so that what comes out of our hearts is pure, sweet and loving. Always help us to see others as precious creations of you, and forgive us when we fail to do so. We ask these things in the name of Christ, Amen.